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The absence of regular rains in the Mid-West and Southeast of Brazil will hamper soy planting this week but moisture will return to states like Mato Grosso over the coming days, according to a forecast by Rural Clima on Monday.

Soy farmers will need “patience” and should proceed “with caution” as irregular rains prevail, said Marco Antonio dos Santos, founder of Rural Clima. Rains should return at the end of this week and next week.

Last week rains boosted soil humidity in many key soy-producing regions, allowing for a significant advance in planting for the 2017/18 crop cycle, said consultants at AgRural.

“However, many Mato Grosso producers held off on planting because either rains had not been sufficient to produce soil humidity or because forecasts for the coming two weeks indicate dry weather in the state,” AgRural said.

Through Oct. 5, Brazilian farmers had planted 5 percent of the soy area, compared with 11 percent from a year ago but roughly in line with a five-year average of 6 percent, AgRural said.

Soy planting last week advanced considerably in Paraná, to 18 percent of the area from 7 percent in the prior AgRural weekly survey, the firm said. Over the same period in Mato Grosso, planting also grew to 8 percent of the area from only 1 percent in the prior AgRural survey, which covered planting through Sept. 28.